Within the urban environment there are considerable problems including congestion and gridlock. Furthermore, many vehicles used within the urban environment are rarely fully occupied as most journeys are taken by one or a maximum of two users. City cars have been designed for this environment. City cars, within the meaning of this specification, are compact vehicles, typically accommodating only one or two occupants and having a small footprint. City cars can be electric, hybrid or run on conventional fuels in a combustion engine.
Some city cars are sufficiently small that they can be parked perpendicular to the curb within a standard parking bay at the roadside. This is advantageous in the urban environment where parking provision is at a premium. However, having parked at a much higher packing density than could be obtained in a conventional vehicle, the driver and any other occupants of the vehicle need to exit the vehicle.
There are various systems available on the market which aims to provide unconventional door openings. For example, the provision of sliding doors can provide easy access in circumstances where the door cannot be opened in a standard manner outward from the vehicle. However, this solution generally is not applicable to city cars where the door occupies more than half of the length of the vehicle because the door would extend beyond the rear of the vehicle and thereby into the road or over the side walk or pavement when the door was opened. This may present unfeasible risks to other road users.
A further example of an unconventional opening is a gull wing door. This is typically provided with a hinge at the top of the door, or in an upper section of the door. The door then rotates around this point and the door moves upwards and outwards to allow the occupant's egress from the vehicle. However, this results in the door extending above the vehicle when the door is in its fully open position. This may be impractical in parking locations frequented by city cars, such as underground car parks or parking lots. Typically such doors are applied to super cars or other vehicles that have a more reclined driving position, resulting in a longer vehicle that would be optimum as a city car.